Operation: Seduce Echidna
by Raiegki Leviathan
Summary: Complete Rouge is determined to get the Master Emerald and will do anything to get it...even if it means alluring Knuckles into false love. RougexKnuckles, but it's up to you to decide for yourself if it's real or not
1. Chapter One: All I want is You

**A/N:** This is my first time in the Sonic section. After being a Sonic fan for years, I finally decided to write Sonic Fanfiction. If this idea has already been done before, I apologize greatly.

~Raiegki Leviathan

~*~

Operation: Seduce Echidna

_Chapter One: All I want…is you_

~*~

"I want that emerald!"

            Rouge slammed her fist into the dirt ground in the dark of the night, venting her frustration into the earth. Another attempt to snatch the Master Emerald was ruined yet again by Knuckles, the devout defender of the gem.

"I hate that stupid echidna!" Rouge screamed, ready to give up on it. She was ready to give up her dream of owning the Master Emerald.

But she couldn't. She had been coveting the jewel for so long, the desire to have it refused to leaver her until the treasure was securely fixed in her hands.

            To calm her self, Rouge knelt over the edge of a nearby pond and splashed her face with water. The heat from her anger died down gradually, and it felt good after an embarrassing retreat. Imagine how good she would feel when she finally got the emerald. She could already see her rival's face.

That blasted echidna was too alert. No matter when or where she tried, Knuckles would always catch her, and force her out.

Surely, there must have been something she could do that she had not yet tried, but what could it be? She had tried pretty much everything in order to get that emerald, and pretty much everything failed. What approach was left that she could use in order to posses the object of her desires?

Rouge paused drenching herself with water and looked down at herself. What kind of treasure hunter doesn't get what she wants? Her reflection, which was distorted by ripples, disgusted her. She wanted to see the greatest treasure hunter of all time. But what she did see was a failure.

However, she refused to give up. Looking back at her reflection once more, as if a sign from above, the perfect plan came to her.

"Foolproof." She grinned. "Absolutely foolproof."

~*~

            It was to be a do-nothing day.

            Usually, Knuckles was on the alert for potential threats to the Master Emerald, specifically, a persistent white female bat. But this particular day, he was certain she would not strike. He had thwarted another plot by her to snatch gem just the previous night. Rouge would not attack again for at least a week.

            How ever so wrong he was.

On his way to go do nothing, he saw the impossible.

He saw Rouge, whom he never _EVER_ saw without something devious in mind. He cursed his luck and set out to intercept and oust her from his territory.

            Rouge was not the least bit surprised to see a red echidna with an extremely annoyed look on his face appear in front of her.

            "Rouge. Out. Now." Knuckles growled, even though he knew it was useless. Rouge never did anything he said unless forced.

            "Why Knuckles, so nice to see you." Rouge smirked, eyes narrowing into slits. "I assure you, I am not here to steal the Master Emerald."

            Of course, this was difficult to believe.

            "Are you going to try asking for it nicely?" The echidna inquired, raising an eyebrow out of amusement.

            "Heavens, no." Rouge laughed. "I don't want the Master Emerald."

            "You're very good at faking it." Knuckles remarked. Rouge took it as a compliment. "So, if you have no business here." He pointed at the ground. "I suggest going over there." He pointed in the direction opposite of what the bat was facing. "Way over there." He waved his hand as if he was shooing her away.  
            "Sorry to disappoint you, but I do have business here." Rouge crossed her arms defiantly. "And I don't intend to leave until I get what I want."

            Knuckles waited for her to move. To try to fly over him or dart past him or kick dirt in his face. They both stood there for several minutes.

            "Well?" Rouge demanded.

            "Well what?" Knuckles huffed. His already thin patience was about to reach its end.

            "Don't you want to know what I want?"

            "Frankly, no."

            Rouge decided to tell him anyways. It was going to be difficult, but she figured in the end it was going to be all worth it.

            "All I want…is you." On the inside, she was gagging, but she managed to say it.

            Before this had enough time to register into a surprised Knuckles' brain, he found Rouge's arms around his neck and her lips on his. He was stunned, confused, and overwhelmed. In short, in total panic.

            '_It will be worth it'._ Rouge bitterly continued to tell herself. '_It will be all worth it.'_

            And thus, marked the beginning of what was called "Operation: Seduce Echidna".

~*~

            Operation: Seduce Echidna (aptly named by Rouge herself) was straightforward. What one would guess upon hearing the name was exactly what the plan was:

            Seduce Knuckles the Echidna to the point where Rouge got him wrapped around her finger. Then go in for the Master Emerald, and make a quick getaway.

            The plan was perfect, according to its creator. Sure, it would sacrifice a lot of her dignity, and she would probably never be able to look Knuckles in the face ever again, (not that she wanted to) she'd be at the top of the treasure hunting food chain, and really, professing false love to someone you absolutely hate then ruining their lives as you triumph didn't sound all that bad. Except for the love part, that is.

            But to Rouge, the pros outweighed the cons.

~*~

            Rouge would have killed for a glass of water that very moment.

            The taste of Knuckles the Echidna was absolutely horrifying to her. She had to get rid of it as soon as possible.

            '_Stupid echidna. If you weren't so stubborn, I wouldn't have to put both of us through this!'_


	2. Chapter Two: The Drinking Game

**A/N: **Important things to know. Yes, I know this fic is a bit on the humor side for being labeled "Romance/Angst". I suppose you're wondering why. It's because it's the way I write. Filled to the brim with irony. I love to mock characters. It's how I show I love them. Plus, I can't outwardly write humor. I can only incorporate it into other genres, so that is where my funny side gets out. If there were three categories allowed for stories, I guess humor would be the third for this fic. I mean, come on, even the title makes people laugh…

            The thing is, I'm incredibly flexible when it comes to Sonic couples. I like all sorts, though I have to admit Rouge/Knuckles is near the bottom of my list. But the idea was too good to pass up. So, enjoy!

            Also, I own plushies of Sonic and Tails. Anyone who can get me a Knuckles plushie would have my eternal gratitude. (It's worth a shot!)

            ~Raiegki Leviathan

~*~

Operation: Seduce Echidna 

_Chapter Two: The Drinking Game_

~*~

            The second Rouge broke away; Knuckles pried her arms off his neck and forced them back to her. He looked flustered and tried to talk, but failed. He gritted his teeth and stared at the bat as if she was the devil, which in his point of view, probably wasn't too far off.

            He appeared to be genuinely terrified of her. Rouge took secret delight in that look. It was like a snappy Kodak commercial to her. She wished she had a camera.

            Sadly, the point here was to not make him terrified, but to somehow convert him into a hopeless, lovesick fool. Rouge didn't expect it to be easy, so she decided to put some feminine charm to work.

            "What's wrong?" She asked, putting on an innocent look that would put even Cream to shame. "Don't you like me?"

            Knuckles chose to say nothing. He knew little in the ways of women. Never really having much interaction with the female gender, he was sure he was one of the most clueless beings in the world about them, second only to Sonic, who took the prize for that. He was rather certain no matter what he said to her, he was asking for trouble. As oblivious as he may have been, he knew the number one rule about the opposite sex. Something Sonic always failed to learn.

            Pissing women off is bad.

            "Well, I can understand." Rouge smiled. "If I were you, I'd hate my guts, too." She realized all she was doing was scaring him. Though she liked that, that wasn't supposed to be scaring him. "I'm just going to have to show you how great I can be. Come on, Knucklehead."

            _Oops. Wrong name._ Rouge thought, mentally slapping her forehead. Not giving him a chance to decline her offer, she snatched him by the hand and dragged him away.

~*~

            It was then Rouge realized she overlooked an important question she should've researched before she started this mission.

            What the heck to guys like? Especially guys that just sit around looking after jewels all day?

            She figured she should have asked another girl on tips to capturing a guy's heart. But then Rouge realized that she didn't have to bother. Who was she going to ask on advice?

            Amy? Yeah right. Rouge would've been better off consulting Cream. She was going to have to improvise.

            "Where are you taking me!?" her hostage blurted out, disrupting her train of thought.

            "It's a secret." Rouge winked at him. "You'll like it, I promise."

~*~

            "Rouge…I don't drink." Knuckles said as Rouge brought him into the bar.

            "We're not here just to drink!" Rouge insisted. "A lot of treasure hunters hang out around here once a week. Tonight is that night. I thought you might like to meet some of them."

            Knuckles examined his surroundings. He never saw so many fortune seekers all in one place before. In fact, he had never seen so many of them period.

            "Nervous, are we?" Rouge smiled. "Don't worry. All the people here are nice."

            "Hey, Rouge!" One of them called out, waving at the bat.

            "C'mon, I want you to meet them!" Rouge beckoned, again tugging on her unwilling companion's arm.

~*~

            "I thought you said you didn't drink." Rouge laughed as Knuckles gulped down an entire mug of beer.

            "I didn't." Knuckles nodded, slamming the glass down. "I guess I just wanted to try. It tastes kind of stale and watery. Makes me feel a little sick."

            "So, you want another one?"

            "Yeah."

            "Another beer for my echidna friend! Put it on my tab!" Rouge called out to girl behind the counter. As the barmaid took the mug and refilled it, the bat turned to Knuckles. "Don't worry, you'll be drunk in no time."

            "Whatever you say." Knuckles mumbled as he took a sip of his newly refilled glass.

            "Betcha I can chug a beer faster than you can." Rouge challenged quite suddenly.

            Knuckles stopped and put the cup back onto the counter. "Excuse me?" He asked seriously, turning his violet eyes onto the challenger.

            "I said, "Betcha I can chug a beer faster than you can"." Rouge repeated, putting her hands on her hips. "So, you wanna play my drinking game or what?"

            If there was anything Knuckles loved, it was competition. He accepted her dare as another beer was passed to them. The barkeeper, Rain the Fennec Fox [1], was to judge the contest.

            _With any luck, he'll get drunk before I do. Then he's all mine…_

            As soon as the signal was given, both competitors grabbed their respective drinks and began consuming them as quickly as possible. Both mugs were slammed down onto the counter at the exact same time with a resounding thud that echoed throughout the bar very clearly. Rain declared it a tie.

            Unsatisfied with the results, the two of them decided to redo the contest. Again, there was a tie. Still not happy, they went on to two more rematches, until the vixen refused to serve them any more alcoholic drinks.

            "Rats. Neither of us won." Rouge sighed in disappointment.

            "Too bad." Knuckles agreed, shaking his head. "S'okay, I guess. Yer tab must be getting pretty big by now."

            "I can afford it." Rouge huffed with a wave of her hand. "A couple a silly drinks aren't going to bring me down financially." She paused and took in a deep breath. "It's stuffy here, and ya sound a little drunk. Wanna go outside?"

~*~

            Outside, Rouge tripped on an uneven part of the sidewalk and fell over, bringing Knuckles down with her.

"Sounds like someone is also a little drunk." Knuckles teased with a twisted grin on his face as he helped her up.

            "I don't know whether ta hit ya for making fun of me, or ta kiss ya for being so nice." Rouge smirked with an intoxicated look on her face. "So, whaddya say I hit ya…" She gave him a playful punch in the stomach. "…_and_ kiss ya?" She finished, embracing the echidna and bringing him in for another kiss.

            Rouge didn't know whether it was a change in opinion or her drunken state, but this time, she did not have the urge to purge the taste of the echidna out of her mouth.

            Knuckles himself still had little to no idea what he was doing. All he was sure of was that no girl ever got this close to him, and it was a new experience for him. And it was a bit exciting, to be liked more than just a friend (though he and Rouge never qualified for "friends") and being important for more than just protecting the Master Emerald.

            Completely oblivious to the inner workings of the bat's mind, however, he was just setting himself up for misery. Should Rouge's brilliant scheme go as planned, Knuckles would soon learn that happiness is not without pain. Though this incident was thrilling to him, he was suddenly reminded this was Rouge the Bat kissing him here. She may love him, but it would take a while before he could love her, if he ever could.

            "Ng…Rouge…I must go." He murmured as he turned in one direction and walked off, staring at his feet as he went.

            Rouge smirked and sauntered off in the other direction, quite satisfied with her progress.

~*~

            [1] – For those of you wondering, Rain the Fennec Fox is my own Sonic character. (No relation to Tails) I use her for roleplay mostly. However, she only plays the small role of a barmaid in fanfictions. I'm not too keen on putting original characters into fics. If I do, they always get small parts. Think of it as a little Easter Egg for me.


	3. Chapter Three: Yours to Defend

            **A/N**: And now, to answer your questions.

**Mistercow:** Yes, I do the Ratchet and Clank riddles.

**DarkXeno:** Ha…no lemons.

**Random Thought of the Day:** Rouge and Faye Valentine have a lot in common…they're manipulative women concerned mostly with personal gain.

            ~Raiegki Leviathan

~*~

Operation: Seduce Echidna

_Chapter Three: Yours to Defend_

~*~

            Knuckles awoke with a start. His head was hurting, and something didn't feel right. He sniffed the air. It smelled a little different. Heck, it even felt different. Something bad was happening, or about to happen. He quickly jumped out of bed, jammed his feet into his shoes and ran through the morning dew covered grass towards the Master Emerald.

            It was still there.

            With a sigh of relief, he stopped to catch his breath. He pushed himself a little too hard over a bad feeling, but he was glad the island's treasure was still safe. He reached over and adjusted his shoes. He was in such a rush that he didn't bother to put them on properly. Not only that, they were now wet and if he continued to wear them, they would probably smell. He would have to take them off and let them dry.

            And his head continued to hurt. The cause was probably the alcoholic drinks he had the previous night. He needed sleep. His bed was calling to him, and he felt compelled to listen to it. He yawned and started back. He was about to succumb to the sweet thought of sleep when the call was interrupted by a voice, one he hoped not to hear.

            "Good morning, Knucklehead!"

            "Rouge…it's five in the morning." Knuckles groaned. His stupid intuition was right. Something bad did happen. He wished it wouldn't bother him until at least seven AM. "It's not polite to visit people this early."

            "But you're awake. That's a good sign." Rouge shrugged. She slid a backpack off her arms and tossed it casually on the floor. "And I wanted to see you."

            "You couldn't stand to be away from me for more than twelve hours?" Knuckles grumbled, shaking his head. "I can't entertain you today, Rouge. I've got a headache."

            "It's probably just a hangover." Rouge laughed, not about to take no for an answer. "I'll bet a few painkillers and an hour or so lying down and you'll be fine. We'll have the rest of the day then. Go take a shower, and where do you keep the medicines?"

            Knuckles stared at her with disbelief.

            "Listen, are you going to do what I say, or do we have to do this the hard way!?"

~*~

            "Why did he have to pick the hard way!?" Rouge moaned. "That was more effort than it was worth." After the echidna took a shower, Rouge was forced to pin him down and literately shove headache pills down his throat. Then she had to keep him down until the medicines took effect.

            She had to admit, he had immense strength. It took her best to hold him down when the echidna was at his weakest. She wouldn't have been able to do that if his head wasn't hurting. Rouge figured that if the two of them worked together, they would've made a great treasure hunting team. Almost too great. Rouge wouldn't find any joy in treasure hunting anymore if she could get whatever she wanted whenever she wanted.

            However, now that Knuckles was sedated, and if the medicines did what they promised, Rouge would have a free hour to herself.

            One hour was plenty of time to grab the Master Emerald and run.

            She looked one more time and the echidna, asleep on a couch.

            "This time, I win." She smirked. She grabbed her backpack and ran out the door.

~*~

            It was beautiful. The Master Emerald, shining in all its glory, sat right there and was hers to take. Rouge's eyes were wide and shining like a child's on Christmas morning. She started to walk towards the treasure, but before she could reach it, the ground started to shake so violently, Rouge was thrown off her feet before she could hover in the air for safety.

            Elsewhere, Knuckles was thrown off the couch as he woke up abruptly. He tried to get up, but the combined effects of the drugs and the rumbling kept him down.

            The dirt beside the Master Emerald began to start flying. A metal tip appeared. The tip began to grow larger and larger until the bat could see that it was a drill. Another drill came into view, and both drills were attached via robotic arms to a giant egg shaped machine, and we all know what egg shaped machines mean.

            "Eggman!" Rouge hissed.

            The mechanism began to reach for the Master Emerald.

            "I'll be taking this now." Eggman's voice boomed over a speaker. "Thanks very much for this gift, Knuckles- what the…_you're not Knuckles!_"

            "Whoop-de-doo." Rouge sighed, rolling her eyes. "How'd you figure that out, Doctor?"

            "You dare mock me!" Eggman fumed. "I have no time to play games with you, bat!"

            "Are you saying that the echidna is more worthy of your time than me?" Rouge snarled at him. Eggman paid no heed and started reaching for the Master Emerald again. "What do you think you're doing!? You can't take that!"

            "Your roaring is getting irritating!" Eggman yelled. "I'll just have to take you out first!"

            The robot lunged at the bat with its two drills, but Rouge was faster, she jumped back and dodged the drills with ease. The machine dropped one of its drills and revealed a hidden missile launcher. It proceeded to fire at her as Rouge spread her powerful wings and lifted off into the air. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a dummy stun ring and tossed it at the launcher. The weapon malfunctioned and shut down.

            Eggman shook his fist at her, but he wasn't done yet.

            The other drill fell to reveal another weapon: a laser cannon. Eggman locked onto the airborne bat and shot a red laser at her. She moved to dodge it, but wasn't quick enough. The laser struck her dominant arm. Rouge screamed in pain and used her other arm to toss more stun rings at the robot. However, since she was using her weaker arm, she had less force behind the throw as the robot moved away from them.

            "Goodbye, Rouge." Eggman sneered as he locked onto her and fired once more, but at the last second Rouge went into a dive and used the momentum to deliver a powerful kick to the robot, causing it to lose its balance and fall onto the ground, smashing the cannon in the process.

            Without any more weapons, Eggman decided to try to grab the emerald and run, but Rouge wasn't about to let that happen. She dived again, but this time he swatted her away. Rouge was knocked out of the air and sent sprawling a good distance away from the egg shaped machine. She lifted her head in time to see Eggman take the Master Emerald.

            Eggman was about to retreat back into the hole he came out of, but he found Rouge standing in his way. She was burning with rage as she glared at him hatefully.

            "Why do you persist to protect this emerald?" He demanded, ready to take her out. "Why? It's not yours to defend."

            "You don't understand." Rouge growled. "I'm not here to protect the emerald. I've wanted that thing for so long, and do you think I'm going to just let you waltz in here and take it!? Well I've got one thing to say to you!"

            With tremendous speed and strength, Rouge reached into her backpack once more and tossed more dummy rings at the robot.

            "_That's **my** Master Emerald!_" She screeched, releasing her fury onto the robot. By the time she was through, it was nothing more than a pile of scrap metal. She seized Eggman by the collar and was about to choke him to death, but Knuckles raced onto the scene.

            "Rouge!" He gasped, again out of breath. "The Master Emerald! It's-"

            "Safe." Rouge finished. She tossed Eggman like a sack of potatoes at Knuckles' feet and placed her foot on his head. "Apologize!" She commanded. When Eggman said nothing, she started to apply pressure to the human's skull. "Apologize to him! Or do you want me to crush your skull!?"

            "Sorry." Eggman snorted in a pathetically quiet voice.

            "_Louder!_"

            "Sorry!" Eggman cried out.

            "Good." Rouge nodded, removing her foot. "Now get out."

            Eggman made a hasty getaway.

            Rouge smiled and looked over at Knuckles, paralyzed with fear.

            "It's okay now." She soothed, giving him a small kiss on the cheek. "He's gone. The Master Emerald is safe now."

~*~

            **Important Note, must read:** This is actually a second, shorter version of the original chapter three. I had it saved originally on a floppy disk, but the disk messed up and wouldn't let me access the chapter. I had to rewrite it, and I don't think this version is as good as the first one. If I can get the original to work, I'll replace this one with it.


	4. Chapter Four: A Different Kind of Treasu...

            **A/N:** Hello, everybody! Yeah, it's me again, and sorry, this isn't a vote. You people don't get to vote on the ending. (Voting and stuff like that is against FF.N policies) The ending was decided before I began work on the story. I think you people would be satisfied by it. Besides, it isn't hard to guess what you people would vote.

            **DarkXeno: **You never give up, do you? (I mean that positively) I decided since you've been such a nice person, I will give hints of lemon to you. Why did Rouge lose her cool? Well, would you be calm if you were working your little behind off for something and someone just walks up and takes it as if it was no problem?

            **Warning:** Extreme use of the words "cute" and "Knuckles" in the same sentences.

            ~Raiegki Leviathan

~*~

Operation: Seduce Echidna 

_Chapter Four: A Different Type of Treasure_

~*~

            His respect for her grew that day.

            Never did Knuckles guess that Rouge would watch over his emerald so attentively and fight for it so valiantly. Perhaps he could at the very least, appreciate her company a bit more. He owed her, and he would repay his debt by giving the bat what she wanted.

            To spend a simple day together.

            Once his head cleared up, he and Rouge put the Master Emerald back in its proper place and they set out to have some fun together. They stopped at a humble sidewalk café for lunch and ended up talking for a good two hours over lemonade [1] and grapes. They talked about adventures, and they talked about treasure hunting. The conversation soon turned into a one-upping contest, to see who found the better treasures. Of course, they got a bit carried away and decided to call it a tie once they realized they had no proof of such escapades. Eventually, the talks became more and more serious, until it finally reached the subject of love.

            "Do you think Sonic likes Amy?" Rouge asked.

            Knuckles laughed. "You can never tell with that guy. Mention Amy's name and he's already a mile away. The affairs of those two adamant hedgehogs don't affect me much; I don't follow them too closely. I only pay attention is if Sonic drags me into it." He paused to gulp down some more lemonade. "Sometimes, I wonder if Amy really does like Sonic, or if it's just the obsessed fantasy of a preteen girl."

            Rouge pondered that for a moment. "What about you?" she inquired. "Have you been in love?"

            "…No." The echidna suddenly looked downhearted. "I mean, I've never gotten close to anyone before."

            "Why not?"

            "I can't." Knuckles sighed, shaking his head as his dreadlocks swayed in the wake of the motion. "I just can't. My life is devoted to the protection of the Master Emerald. There's no time or tolerance for things like love. And even if I did find a way to devote myself to someone special, it can be used against me. In many different ways. I can't afford to be in love."

            Rouge was silent. For a moment, she was afraid he had figured out her plan, but when she saw that look of desperation and longing in those sad amethyst eyes, she couldn't help but feel for him for a minute.

            "I didn't mean for it to be hurtful." She consoled, regretting asking the question.

            Her thoughts straightened out. What was she doing? She was not supposed to relate to him. Her sole purpose was to get the echidna to fall head over heels for her.

            She gathered the most compassionate look possible. _What a sob story._ She thought with mild disgust, though she seemed to be having trouble staying sickened at it_._ It was a pretty pitiful sob story.

            A weak smile formed on Knuckles' face.

"I know you didn't." He answered. "You were simply…curious."

~*~

            Knuckles lingered behind a bit as he allowed Rouge to lead the way. He didn't exactly know where they were going, but it didn't seem to matter much. He was enjoying the female's company and would go wherever she led him.

            Knuckles blinked as he watched the bat in front of him. He noticed her magnificent wings and her eloquent curves. He never really recalled noticing them before, but that feral beauty that she always seemed to have increased tenfold now that he was really starting to _look_ at her. He wondered how he could have known her for so long and not take note of such physical beauty.

            "What are you staring at? Did you finally notice I'm a girl?" Rouge asked, turning her head over her shoulder.

            "Ack!" Knuckles cried out, completely off guard. His face was almost as red as his fur. He looked down on his shoes out of guilt. "Yes…no…uh…I didn't mean to…"

            Rouge giggled. She had never seen this side of Knuckles before. She had no idea he was so…shy, unlike the tough "Get-the-Hell-off-my-island-and-away-from-my-emerald" impatient little brute she often saw. The bat now had an insecure, "Ack! It's-a-girl! What-do-I-do!? What-do-I-do!?" cute little fuzz ball on her hands. It amused her to no end. Maybe she'd poke some more fun out of the stuttering echidna. She would spare no expense in exploiting her poor victim, who now seemed incapable of forming sentences with his vocal chords.

            "It's okay." She grinned. "If you were anyone else, I'd slap you upside the head. However, I think I'll make an exception…for you." She turned her face forward again and continued on.

            Knuckles blinked and tilted his head rather cutely.

~*~

            Ever since she gave him permission to gaze at her all he wanted, that was the last thing Knuckles now wanted to do. He felt like an idiot for several reasons, and he couldn't remember what most of them were, but not being able to take his eyes off the bat was one he was sure of. He was so used to annoying Rouge by not doing what she said, it was an instinctive reaction to do the exact opposite of what she said.

            It wasn't like he was gazing at her on purpose.

            "Hey, pay attention when I'm talking to you!"

            "Uh…what?" Knuckles blinked, back to reality.

            Rouge slapped her forehead. "Here's a tip about dating…no spacing out! Especially not when the person you're on a date with is talking to you!"

            "I'll try to remember that." Knuckles apologized, head dipping what appeared to be a small, respectful bow. Was it just him, or did she use the word "date"!? Was this a date? He wasn't quite sure. He tilted his head again, slightly confused.

            "You better." His companion warned, pointing a finger at him. "And stop doing that head tilting thing…even though it's kind of cute."

            She thought he was cute? That was new to him.

            "As I was saying…" Rouge continued. "I wanted to know if you'd show me around your island. I've been there plenty of times, you know that, but I've never actually gotten the chance to look around because…well, you know why." She was trying her best not to use the words "Master Emerald" in fear that Knuckles would say no.

            Knuckles thought about her proposal for a second. He knew he could not refuse her. He still was in debt to her for protecting his emerald. The day was still young, and he had promised her an entire day together. A little tour couldn't hurt. It was probably the best way to stay out of trouble for a while.

            "Alright."

~*~

            Rouge pretended to be very interested in what the island had to offer. She always stayed a couple steps or wing beats ahead of her echidna guide and asked questions about particular plants and structures that seemed unique to her, all of which Knuckles answered without having to think. She could see he knew his island like the back of his hand. And why wouldn't he? He's spent the majority of his life on it.

            Soon enough, Rouge didn't even have to feign interest anymore. Angel Island was so unique, unlike the other islands she's visited on her various treasure hunts or vacations.

            "Oh, hey! What's this?" She asked, walking up to a large stone right next to the side of a hill.

            "It's nothing." The echidna told her. "Nothing of importance. Um…over here there's a nice waterfall…"

            _It looks like there's something behind this…_ Rouge thought. Whatever it was, it wasn't the Master Emerald. She knew where that was kept, but she was too preoccupied with this rock to think about that. She tried to peer around it, but she couldn't see much. However, a ray of sunshine seeped through the crack as something shined directly in her eye. She pulled back, temporarily blinded. Her vision came back after a second.

            "I told you, there's nothing special about that boulder!" Knuckles growled.

            "There's something shiny back here!" Rouge called back. "Tell me what it is!"

            "You don't need to know."

            "Aha! So you do know what it is!"

            Knuckles slapped himself for practically giving it away.

            "Show me what it is!" She demanded. "You still owe me!"

            "Are you sure you want to know?" Knuckles asked, in one last attempt to make her lose interest. He regretted pledging his entire day to her. "Curiosity killed the bat."

            "Yes, and for your information, curiosity killed the _cat_."

            "Fine, fine." Knuckles reluctantly stepped over to the huge rock and started to push with all his might. He shoved and dug his shoes into the dirt while the obstacle slowly began to give way to his strength and move over to one side. When there finally was an opening large enough for them to crawl through, he stopped pushing and stopped to recover from such an endeavor.

            Rouge saw the rock was blocking cave that went into the hill, but it didn't look natural. It looked more like a burrow than a cave.

            "Come on." The echidna beckoned.

            "Did you dig this?" The bat asked.

            "Yes. Yes I did." The male answered.

            "Why?"

            "You'll see."

            The two entered the cave and Rouge nearly squealed in delight.

            Before her, stood a massive treasure trove. A pile of valuables that looked about the same size and value as her own stash. Gold, silver, diamonds, rubies…name a precious stone or metal, you could find it there.

            "It's all mine."

            "All yours?" She repeated in disbelief. Then she remembered that like her, Knuckles was a freelance treasure hunter. "Wow…"

            "I know exactly what's in here. I will be able to tell if something is stolen, so don't try it."

            "What makes you think I'd try to steal something?" Rouge pouted. Knuckles gave her a "You've-got-to-be-kidding-me" look. The look softened.

            "Sorry." Knuckles apologized. "Guess I'm being paranoid. You're the first person I've shown this to. Not even Sonic knows about this."

            "Well, thank you for showing me!" Rouge grinned, planting a kiss on Knuckles' cheek. "But I think I'd rather see more of your island."

            He perked up. "Really?"

            Outside, Knuckles pushed the boulder back in place. This time the effort seemed easier.

            Rouge took him by the arm.

            "Let's go see that waterfall you were talking about."

~*~

            [1] – There's your "hint of lemon", DarkXeno. I can find loopholes too, so ha!

~*~


	5. Chapter Five: Fallen Angels

            **A/N:** Sorry I didn't update sooner…my Internet access died for a week. It was horrible. Also, we're getting close to the end of _Operation: Seduce Echidna_, only one more chapter after this! But fear not! I'll be back with brand new fics for you all. Though I probably won't be writing any more Rouge/Knuckles fics. You people probably don't know it, but I am a _huge_ Shadow/Knuckles fan. However, that doesn't mean I can't write a decent Rouge/Knuckles, can I?

            Enjoy the show.

            ~Raiegki Leviathan

            **DarkXeno:** Don't be hard on yourself, buddy. I was only poking fun at you. And yes, there is a bit of platinum hiding around in that treasure trove. Not much, but there's some there, and I bet Rouge has some as well.

            **SepirothsGoddess**: I got my Sonic and Tails plushies about seven years ago (not exactly sure on the date, but Sonic 2 was just about the hottest game at the moment) at a Best Buy. There was a pile of Sonic Plushies and my mom bought one for me. A few months later on Valentine's Day, there were Tails Plushies in a pile in the exact same place. My mom also bought me one. Once I steal…er…borrow my dad's digital camera, I'll put up a picture of them. Must…get…Knuckles…Plushie…!

~*~

Operation: Seduce Echidna 

_Chapter Five: Fallen Angels_

~*~

            "I'm jealous." Rouge pouted as she sat with Knuckles at the base of a gorgeous waterfall just as the sun had retired for the day.

            "Of what?" Knuckles asked.

            The bat pointed at the thundering cascade in front of her. "I'm jealous of the way you get to live. You get to sit back, enjoy nature, and have some time all to yourself. And me? It's always "Rouge, I've got an assignment for you." Or, "Rouge, I'm counting on you. Don't let me down." Sometimes even, "Rouge, don't let jewels get in the way of your mission." I wish I didn't have so many obligations like you."

            Silence. Rouge waited for a response, but none seemed to come. She moved slightly forward to better see his face, but the echidna turned away.

            "…Is something wrong? Did I say something-"

            "You think my life is easy!?" Knuckles snarled, glaring at her with the eyes of a ravenous wolf. "That I can goof off all I want all day? Oh, how I wish I could!" He yelled with intense hostility. "I am attached ball and chain to that stupid, _stupid_ giant green rock day and night. If it disappears, whose fault is it? Mine, of course! Not a day goes by when I don't wish I could someday do what _I_ want, live _my_ life. I love my island, really, I do. But I could love it even more if I could just get away for a while, not chasing after Eggman, but for me."

            He hung his head low and took a few deep breaths. His vision was blurry as he blinked and allowed a few tears to run down his cheek.

            "Then, when I come back, I can finally feel at home. There are times I _wanted_ you to steal the Master Emerald. So I can stop being a lapdog for it. I considered actually letting you take it more than once, but that would be cowardly of me, and I'd be letting so many people down. I thought that maybe you would understand, but, you don't. So do me a favor and leave me alone for a while."

            Rouge felt compelled to obey. "You've been wanting to say that for a while, haven't you?" Without waiting for an answer, she got up, extended her wings, and pushed off the ground, catching a warm air current and rising up into the sky.

~*~

            Something clicked in the bat's mind as she flapped her wings against the wind and did an about face in midair. She leaned forward slightly and allowed the soft breezes to run over her sleek purple wings and keep her aloft as she gazed at the floating island below. She then turned her nose up at the heavens, spread those wings, and went into a nosedive back towards very place she was leaving. As she drew closer, she straightened herself out horizontally at about thousand feet or so above the treetops and circled the perimeter like a vulture over a dead carcass, looking for a place to land.

            Upon finding a spot suitable for landing, she swooped down closer to the ground. Before impact, she again straightened, but this time vertically, and gave her wings a powerful flap to slow the descent before touching her feet down, one after another, plus her right hand to steady herself, on the soft ground.

            Rouge folded the limbs she used for flight neatly across her back as she looked around at the surroundings and noticed a subtle sound that sounded like a rainstorm. She then realized she was standing on a cliff, and she had a pretty good idea on which one. She peered over the edge and saw a red echidna still moping around where she left him, staring lifelessly at his own reflection in the water.

            If the echidna knew she was there, he chose not to acknowledge it, but it didn't seem very likely. Rouge turned away and dashed off as quickly and quietly as possible.

            Rouge glanced over her shoulder to see if Knuckles was in pursuit of her. He was not, so she concentrated on what was ahead of her and pressed for more speed as she raced across the island, leaving a trail of dust and upturned leaves behind her.

            Upon reaching her destination, she skidded to a halt. Okay, so things didn't work out exactly as planned, but Rouge figured this was fine as well. She then turned and looked over her shoulder again. She didn't know why, but she felt guilty. But what was there to be guilty of?

            She plopped down on the ground, torn between two choices. She sat there for a good ten minutes, as she kicked the dirt in frustration. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a tiny notepad and a pencil and doodled on it for a while.

            Finally, she tore out all the badly drawn doodles and scribbled one last thing.

~*~

            Knuckles was beginning to regret driving Rouge away. He desperately needed someone to talk to, and he had neither the strength, nor the willpower, to get up and find her or anyone else.

            "Idiot!" He cried, swiping at the surface of the water and destroying his own reflection. However, it just came back. "You. Irrational. Self centered. _Idiot_!" He insulted, attacking his own image for a second time, but like before, it only rematerialized in front of him. He sunk down as low to the earth as he could and whimpered like lonely, defeated puppy. "I whine at her, she tries to be nice, and what do I do? I blow her off, that's what! Real smooth, Knuckles. Real smooth. No wonder your social life totally sucks."

            With what little motivation his body had left in him, Knuckles flipped himself onto his back like a pancake ready to be cooked on the other side. The sky was clear, and he had a great view of the stars.

            "I wonder if they're watching me right now." He mused. By "they", he meant the ancient echidnas that had passed the duty of the protection of the Master Emerald to him. "…Are they mad that I'd rather not watch the Master Emerald? Surely, you guys must have felt the same way I do at one point of their lives or another. I really meant it when I said I loved this island, but it doesn't feel like home unless I can appreciate it and be grateful for it a bit more. I'm trying really hard to be focused, but with all that's going on nowadays and Rouge being so clingy to the point that it's Amy-like and creepy, it's getting pretty hard to concentrate."

            He sighed, certain that the echidnas of the past were disappointed in him. He was half expecting Tikal to appear in front of him and scold him like a child, but such did not happen.

            "And now I'm talking to myself!" He laughed. "Can I get any more pathetic?" He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Apparently so." He muttered, turning on his side. The grass tickled his nose and caused him to sneeze. "Angel Island's home to many angels, but I'm not one of them."

~*~

            "Huh? Again?" Knuckles muttered as the ground began to shake for the second time that day. "What could it…The Master Emerald! I need to get to the Master Emerald!"

            The guardian tried his best to get up and not fall back down. It seemed to him that the tremors were more intense than before, but he wasn't sure if they really were, being sleepy with headache medication the first time the ground rumbled. He clung to a nearby tree as if it was his only means of survival and once he felt he had gotten used to the rumbling, he tried to continue on. Unfortunately, he underestimated the power of the quakes beneath his shoes as he tripped and almost ran head first into another tree. Forcing himself back up again, he grabbed onto the aforementioned tree as he slowly made his way towards the precious emerald, a task that seemed nearly impossible due to his recent lapse of self-esteem, but he refused to back down from his duties.

            Slowly, but steadily, he made his way towards the Master Emerald like the tortoise that raced the hare, but this time, speed was important. Knuckles had no idea what was going on, all he knew was that the Master Emerald was in trouble, for natural earthquakes never happened on his island. If the ground was shaking, then something had to be up with his treasure.

            Finally, he did reach the chamber in which the Master Emerald was kept. Fighting the vibrations with all his might, he made his way up the old steps eaten away by time. When he reached the end of the staircase, the shaking gave one last, violent tremor as he was thrown off his feet. Knuckles got up and prepared himself for combat, but what Knuckles saw was nothing.

            Not even the Master Emerald.

            Where the emerald used to rest, he saw a scrap of paper that wasn't there before. He snatched it and read the barely legible handwriting.

            _Consider your wish granted._

The echidna's eyes grew wide as he let the paper float down to the ground, stunned. If he had angel's wings, he felt as if every last feather on them was brutally yanked out.

            He sunk to his knees and buried his face in his hands.


	6. Chapter Six: Broken

**A/N:** I suppose you're all wondering why it took so long to get this chapter up. Well, first, I got a new Knuckles Plushie and have been devoting many an hour to cuddling it. Oh, and I got writer's block as well. I know that some of you were expecting a longer story, but I figured the only way to prolong this is to add pointless dates and stuff that would make you all bored. Also, I'd like to thank you all for your wonderful support, so here's a word of advice: Unless you're really confident in yourself, don't try to write a story for a paring you don't like. Otherwise, it will turn into something I like to call "teh suck". (No, that is _not_ a typo.) Learn from my mistake, people. Although you all seem to like this, I really think I can do better when it comes to Sonic fandom. So expect to see me around again sometime, just don't expect any more Rouge/Knuckles fics from me. And don't ask me to write any more. Because I _won't_.

Best wishes to all,

Raiegki Leviathan

Operation Seduce Echidna

_Chapter Six: Broken_

__

She did it. She did _it_.

"I did it!" Rouge cried as she gawked at the gigantic gem sitting ever so perfectly on a pedestal in her personal treasure storage vault. "Did that silly echidna think he could keep this jewel away from me forever?" She smirked. "I'll be the envy of every treasure hunter of the world. It feels so good to come out on top."

It felt good, so why was there something itching at the back of her mind? Something was annoying her right from the second she grabbed the emerald and ran.

Could this possibly be…guilt?

Impossible. Rouge the Bat, world's greatest treasure hunter/thief learned to suppress that stupid little thing called a conscience years ago. She had never felt guilty her entire greed-driven life, even as a little whelp she was never sorry for anything, never regretted what she did, never looked back. Everything she did was for her own personal benefit and she had no shame about it.

So, she did what she normally did when something went wrong.

She blamed someone else.

"This is your fault, Knucklehead!" She cried, pointing a finger in the general direction of Angel Island. She cursed his name until she fell to her knees trembling. "It's…your…fault…" Rouge sputtered. "I…I…hate you. _I hate you!_" She screamed. However, the more she blamed Knuckles, the weaker and more guilt-ridden she felt.

She would accuse him no longer.

She couldn't.

She was the one who played temptress, exploiting the echidna's loneliness, his gullibility, and his desire for freedom. And did she ever feel _bad_ about it.

Angel Island had fallen into the ocean when it lost its power source, but to a certain echidna, the entire world came crashing down with it. Stunned by his failure to protect the Master Emerald, Knuckles had fallen into a state of depression and aloofness and felt little but self-pity and worthlessness. The one single task he was obligated to do he failed. Unlike she who got the best of him, Knuckles possessed a strong sense of pride, which was completely shattered when he allowed such a brazen female get the best of him. He should have known better than to trust one who came from the family who double-crossed both the fur and the feathers in the Battle between the Birds and the Beasts. [1]

His ancestors would never forgive him.

Were they alive, they'd ridicule him. Possibly exile him from the echidna tribe, ashamed to have him as one of their own. He got close to the enemy, and she stabbed him where it hurt most, and these were wounds that would never heal for years to come, should they even heal at all. To add insult to injury, his renowned gullibility had once again been one of the main factors in this defeat.

Knuckles wanted to curl up into a ball and die.

The sky was looking ominous as the rain clouds came rolling in at a remarkable speed. Their deep grey color reminded Rouge of Team Dark's assault on Eggman's flagship. She remembered Shadow mention something about bad omens, but the bat had shrugged it off as she didn't believe in such nonsense, though she did worry a tiny bit when she saw even that E-123 Omega was watching the atmosphere cautiously.

Now she was beginning to get a little superstitious. The sky was cloud-free earlier that day and she did not remember hearing about any upcoming storms. She almost wished Team Dark didn't go their separate ways so she could ask the jet-black hedgehog of what he made of the situation. Rouge had no idea why she was worrying about a little bit of weather, but her newfound guilt trip was smacking her upside the head and telling her that she had something to do with it.

"Don't be crazy!" She yelled to no one in particular. "You want me to go _out there_!? That's suicide!"

That no one in particular was pretty persuasive.

"I'm going to regret this." She muttered, stretching her wings.

"I can't believe this!" Rouge screeched, flapping against the strong gales as droplets of water attacked her body ferociously. "What in the world convinced me to go flying in this weather!?" As if in response to her outburst, a strong gust of wind rushed by and sent her into a tailspin, setting her back a few hundred feet before she could regain herself. She fumbled her cargo, the Master Emerald, and nearly dropped it. She sighed and wondered what devilish being possessed her to do such a stupid thing. Not after what she went through to claim the Master Emerald.

Higher. She needed to get higher. Above the storm if she could.

But nature wasn't about to let her off so easily. Even though it didn't seem possible, the squall was starting to intensify as lightning struck around the bat and the rain came tumbling down with even greater force. She flapped hard, fighting with all her might, though even all her secret training couldn't prepare her for all this as fatigue began to surge through her blood. The storm took advantage of this opportunity as it sent her into another tailspin, where the bat was lost in the fog.

A waterlogged bat trudged up the old steps towards the chamber where she knew the echidna was hiding. She panted as she heaved her freight along with her. When she finally made it to the top, she set it down gently in front of the red, yellow, and grey shoes of the male.

"You again!?" He growled, baring his teeth like a savage animal.

> "I nearly _died_ to get here!" Rouge pouted. "This is how you greet me?"

He ignored her. "Have you come to torment me, you sadistic succubus? Haven't you had enough? You've taken everything from me. What more do you want!?"

"How dare you call me a brutal, demonic whore!" Rouge snapped, towering over him and pointing a finger at him, causing drops of water to fly into the echidna's face.

"How dare you deny it!?" Knuckles scoffed, not the least bit intimidated by the bat's aggression. "I didn't know you could stoop so low as to make me believe that I could live happily, and then slam me into the ground. And now you want to kick me while I'm down?"

"It's _your fault_ because you're so freaking gullible!" Rouge exploded.

Knuckles' eyes grew wide and narrowed in unspeakable anger when he grabbed her wrist and forced her down to his level.

"And do you _know why I am so gullible_?" He hissed into her face. "Do you?"

Rouge clenched her teeth and glared at him hatefully.

"I've been alone almost my entire life. When you live by yourself, it's difficult to tell who can be trusted and who can't, which is why I have such poor judgment and can stupidly trust those who mean me harm." [2]

Rouge looked uneasy and tried to get free of his grasp, but no avail. However, the struggle was pointless when the echidna released her willingly.

"You've won. Go ahead, take your spoils and go. I won't try to stop you."

"No."

"What?" He questioned, lifting his guard.

"Do you not listen to what I say?" Rouge turned her nose upward snobbishly. She then stood up and started towards the exit. "I told you before: I don't want the Master Emerald." She waited for a reply. She got none. "So take it."

"…This won't fix much." Knuckles said quietly. "I will never be able to trust you ever again. Not even after this."

"I don't expect you to." Rouge answered. "But keep in mind, I might change my mind and come for it again."

"Do what you want."

"Gladly." Rouge smirked as she took the first step down. Then she stopped, and looked back over her shoulder. She did a fast about face, and ran back towards the echidna.

"What are you-" Before Knuckles could finish his demand, the bat grabbed him for one last kiss. When she finally let him go, she left as quickly as she came.

Knuckles sat there, touching the spot where she kissed him for the last time.

[1] – The Battle between the Birds and the Beasts is an old Aseop fable in which the birds and beasts fought. The bats always sided with whoever was winning. The war ended in a stalemate and bats were banished by both sides to the night, explaining why they are nocturnal.

[2] – This idea on why Knuckles is so gullible was created by xXShrinerXx, the author of _Crimson Act_ during a roleplay I'm doing with her.

**A/N:** As far as endings go…I really don't feel satisfied by this one. I tried my best, so feel free to complain about it. I'll try harder in my next Sonic fics to write better endings, and heck, better fics period…I must say this one was a disaster. Next time, I think I'll stick to couples I don't feel awkward writing about.


End file.
